Tag Archives: GOP

With the 2008 election leaving its mark in history, it was no surprise that the voters’ reactions would be just as memorable. Whether it was joy or anger that made the tears rush down their faces, this was going to be a historical election no matter what. Although the last few months seemed to have split the nation in half (either being a republican or a democrat) statistics show that overall voters are pleased with the turnout.

As you can see, there is a slight drop in McCain supporters after the election, but the majority seems to be ok with Obama being elected.

So, where do we go from here? I think it’s obvious that the media will take care of our curiosity about the future course of President Elect Berack Obama, but what about John McCain? America still has this wondering thought of what will happen to that familiar person they’ve seen on the never ending TV ads for so many months. Will McCain remain Arizona’s Senator and embrace his defeat by Obama which will inevitably force him to unite with the one person he has despised over the past 21 months?

Senator McCain has been making efforts to cheer up his supporters as well as convincing his own self that this loss wasn’t a big deal. When he appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno shortly after Election Day, he attempted to make small jokes about the election and his reaction to the loss.

…I don’t believe it was very convincing.

Many analysts have computed the factors that may have led to this ultimate loss, and the economy was one that hit the Republican candidate the hardest. According to Patrick Buchanan from Real Clear Politics, he states that McCain never really recovered from his drop in polls after his frantic actions during the unpopular $700 billion bank bailout. He also goes on to say that McCain failed to hold on to Bush’s share of the white working class votes, which showed to be true once the Election Day numbers came about.

Other reporters feel that it was an inevitable loss for the Republican Party. They say that the Democrats raised more money, had more registered voters, and were able to communicate to the public in a much more effective manner. It is obvious that this was not just a historical election because of the first African American President, but because this was the turning point for the American government and the way elections will be ran from here on out.

Although all of these things were major factors in the Republican’s loss, McCain’s last minute attempts to “woe” voters didn’t help either. His appearance on Saturday Night Live on November 1st made the ever so powerful politician look pathetically desperate during these crucial days of the election.

Even his horrible acting couldn’t save him from his ultimate failure that following Tuesday night.

Reactions from the election were made notice on, what seemed to be, every television channel. David Letterman made some nasty comments of McCain in his show following the election:

But on a more humorous note, the very funny South Park took a twist on the election when they displayed McCain, Obama, Palin, and even Michelle working together to get into the white house simply to steal a valuable necklace that was only worth a small portion of what they actually spent to get there in the first place. Also, it made fun of angry McCain supporters when they began building an Ark to escape from their corrupt nation while their opponents celebrated on the streets with booze in each hand. Unfortunately, the episode has yet to make its way to the public internet; so you’ll just have to see it later.

So the question now is, where will John move next? For now he plans to stay with the US Senate where he will have a much louder voice than ever before. The GOP is glad to have him aboard to help balance the new rise in democratic seats. Does this mean he’ll be the next republican to run in 2012? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Regardless of how the presidential race ends up, the Republican party will come out of 2008 damaged to the core and internally divided. Even if McCain wins his squeaker by rolling snakes eyes in Pennsylvania, the damage the friction in the Republican party is already done. It was starkly evident in the primaries, with Rudy and McCain as the moderates, and Romney and Huckabee as the conservatives. The conservative wing of the party lost out, and has been pouting ever since, driving down enthusiasm for McCain and depression his turnout. Some think they got what they wanted in Sarah Palin, but she drives away more than she brings in. The recent reports of Palin “going rouge” and acting like a “diva” are driven by sources from within McCain’s own campaign.

Fighting over the RNC chairmanship has already begun, with Mitt Romney looking to pull a Howard Dean and seize the chair for himself. (don’t you just love politics?)

And that’s not the worst of it. Congressional Republicans are in a world of hurt, being hit in their strongholds by democratic challengers. Both Moderate and Conservative GOP senators are being hit hard. The GOP will lose many of it’s moderate incumbents, like Sunnunu in New Hampshire. The GOP recruits this cycle have been weak, often far too conservative in a Democratic year. Case in point, the Colorado senate race. Super-conservative Bob Schaffer will lose to Mark Udall, and Schaffer’s rival for the GOP nomination, McInnis, now says he would have won if they had given him the nod.

“Frankly I have more difficulties with the right wing of my party then I do with taking on a Democrat. Udall was not the biggest threat I faced in the election. My biggest threat was getting through the primary. Both parties have a pretty radical element to them.” -McInnis

The Question is who will control the Republican party? Will the right wing simply seize control of the party mechanics? It’s possible, but their recruits will probably continue to be weak. The two GOP favorites for a run for Colorado governorship in 2010 are Bob Beauprez (again) or, get this, Tom Tancredo. With Beauprez’s dismal result and Tancredo’s utter wingnut status, neither have a real shot. The point is, if the Republicans turn to the right, they will probably get Goldwatered again and again. If the Republicans turn to the center, they will suffer a drop in enthusiasm, fundraising, ground troops, and turnout. However, such a move might bring back states like Colorado, Virginia, New Hampshire and Iowa. The Blue Dog Democrat tactic of fitting the candidate to his/her district is working, even if that candidate is pro-gun, pro-life, and pro-war. In essence, the Democrats have expanded the tent of their party, while the Republicans have been busy purging all those who aren’t pure conservatives (“liberal” is never used more often as an insult than in republican primaries).

Who will take over the Republican party after 2008? Only time will tell, but one thing Republicans can look forward to is the probability of infighting within the Democratic party. If Obama can keep things together, and run a unified government (I’m not sure anyone in American politics is capable of this anymore) then things look bleak for the GOP, However, that isn’t likely.

In a continuation of my previous blog entree, I think both McCain and Obama campaigns need to invest more resources on conducting opposition research. With that said, perhaps Obama team should hire the whole crew of the Daily Show for that kind of assignment as it seems like they are doing an excellent job of finding numerous gaffes and hypocritical statements made by the Republicans. The following video underscores the laughable level of inconsistency that the GOP presents in many of their talking points.